Have you ever been contacted by a client who needed your
help because they allowed a team in to their abode or business only to be left
with nothing. I believe that people are either happy or unhappy with a level of
service they receive based on whether it did or did not live up to their
expectations. Let's face it - if you promise them the moon and the stars, they
won't be happy when you only deliver the moon. Now if you had promised them
only the hillside and delivered the moon, then they are stunned and amazed. We
can determine how a client reacts to our services by providing them with a
reasonable (a.k.a. easily attainable for us) set of expectations. I think it is
a must that you advise them of the services you provide, perhaps even have it
wrote down for them to read. Explain your process and the way you will be conducting
the investigation in great detail. Let them be aware of what is expected of them and what they can
expect from you. When you set the clients' expectations for them, they don't
have the chance to set those expectations anywhere else. It leaves no room for
them to be overly demanding without seeming unreasonable. What I mean by
demanding here is the clients persistence that what they are experiencing is
let's say Uncle Wilfred. It is crucial that we do not inform the client that it
is Uncle Wilfred until you have all your results. I think another important
part would be not promising more. When you sit down with the client be
reasonable and rational when setting the expectations and the services you will
provide. The bottom line is that your clients don't know what to expect until
you tell them. Set your clients' expectations at a reasonable level and then
exceed them. Do this consistently and you'll watch your repeat business grow,
thusly allowing you to continue your search. This is just my opinion ~ Tracy